The WebCAPE takes care of the sorting for your institution. Based on the facts above, we can safely assume students of all Chinese proficiency levels will be coming to your colleges. The WebCAPE quickly & efficiently measures and places them into an appropriate Chinese course.

Frequently Asked Questions

Because the CATRC is created to function as a placement test as well as an achievement test, it uses both types of characters by design. The lower level items have prompts in both types next to each other. As learners are pushed higher they are presented text prompts in one or the other form based on the idea that being an advanced learner means being able to handle texts where ever they are from. Most programs expose students to both forms by the higher levels, otherwise an advanced reader might only be able to read material from one place or the other (say Mainland or Taiwan or Hong Kong. are typically pushed to read both forms by third year, which begins to align with the advanced levels as reflected in the test.

Although, it is possible to do a version of this test exclusively in one type or the other, it would measure something a little different. We are considering a version with all one type or the other as an exclusive placement tool.

The original test approximated an ACTFL rating by rating each question in the test on the ACTFL scale based on published descriptors. The level of question at which the test taker consistently then represents the estimated rating. The new test was recalibrated in 2009 using a method of analysis called Item Response Theory (IRT) and put on continuous scale. This technique allows for greater accuracy in determining the level of proficiency or placement. We are working to correlate formally test outcomes with known reading levels, with reference to ACTFL descriptors.

As a placement test these numbers mean different things to different programs. Depending on institutional standards, a 400 for example, might match with the beginning of third semester or any other semester. Also, since some programs emphasis reading more or less, it is possible that a 400 score would correlated with a much higher level in a program focusing on speaking and listening. The test is meant to suggest placement, not to predict grades.